Resident Evil Crossover
by Snow Tigra
Summary: Finished. Problems arise on the terriforming project on Mars, after the Marimeia wars and the Gboys are sent in. But their training hasn't prepared them fro this. A crossover cowritten with Chibi Shichan.
1. Default Chapter

Resident Evil   
By: Snow-Bat and Chibi Shi-Chan   
  
Hi all!!! Here is a nice little fic for Halloween. Snow-Bat and I will be working together on different chapters of this fic. We both hope you all enjoy it as much as we enjoyed working on it.   
  
Disclaimer: Neither Gundam Wing or Resident Evil is ours. However, Snow owns a copy of Resident Evil 2 and I own a copy of Resident Evil: Code Veronica.   
  
Time: AC 197, after Endless Waltz which makes the boys around 17.   
  
Warnings: A crossover with one of the scariest games out there. Gore! Blood! Sap! Everything a good horror fic could ever ask for!   
  
Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4, 5xS, and 6x9   
  
  
Prologue   
  
  
Two figures are seen running down a long corridor. One is shooting behind him, his long, platinum blond hair flowing around him. The other, a woman with short black hair, is shooting ahead of them. Suddenly the two stop and run in a room, finding what they were searching for.   
  
"Damn it, it's shot." Says the man.   
  
"Not yet it isn't. I should be able to send a brief message." Says the woman. She goes to what appears to be a comm link, only it has plants and vines all over it. The vines appear to be eating away at the machine. The woman pushes a few buttons until she sees a familiar face on the screen.   
  
"Calling Preventers. We need help, immediately. If you get this send help ASAP, hurry!"   
  
The screen sputters with static and the woman glances at the man in frustration. She hits the button and tries again.   
  
"If you can hear us send help fast! The planet is-"   
  
The woman is cut off as a vine breaks through the wall and smashes the screen. She jumps back as the man shoots the vine, the flames burning it to a crisp but also destroying what was left of the comm unit. Then two back away from the comm and try to think of what to do next as a they hear loud stomping noises from outside the door. The man quickly reloads his gun and both aim for the door. But both freeze as it enters the room... by breaking the door down. The man shoots at it, but his bullets have no effect. He holds the woman in his arms as she begins to tremble. The figure draws closer to them and all that is heard is a loud scream.   
  
  
We need… immediately… hurry!! Planet is… 


	2. Part 1

Part 1   
  
*Preventers Headquarters   
  
Duo drummed his fingers on the desk as his other hand moved the mouse, selecting the last of the playing cards and dragging it over to where it belonged. Another card blinked into view, the last of the pile. He let out a loud sigh as he realized it didn't help him at all, he'd lost the game. Closing the solitaire program he sighed loudly and leaned back in his chair. Glancing around the office his eyes fell on the desk across from his, his partners.   
  
"Heero, is it time to leave yet?" He half-whined.   
  
"No." Came the low voice. Heero sat at his own desk with his laptop closed and pushed off to the side. A large stack of papers sat in front of him and his eyes were scanning the words carefully while a red pen was held tightly in his hand. He was either editing or signing paperwork, or he could have been playing a game of connect the dots for all Duo knew. Heero always gave all the work in front of him his full attention.   
  
"There's nothing to do around here," Duo mumbled, glancing back at his own screen, debating if he should try the game again.   
  
Heero glanced up from his work and his eyes locked on Duo's full In-box. He frowned. "You could always do your work."   
  
Duo snickered. "Yeah, and then I'll fall asleep at my desk again and get yelled at. I'll get it done, eventually. Besides, have I ever missed an assignment?"   
  
Heero didn't answer, he just looked back to his own work. There wasn't an answer, Duo was right, he never missed an assignment, he just waited until the last minute to do everything. A true teenager at his best.   
  
With another sigh Duo turned back to his computer and was about to click on the internet icon, intent on spending the rest of his free time surfing the net, when he saw a mail message blinking at the top of his screen. Clicking on it he saw it was from Lady Une.   
  
After the Marimeia Wars had ended the Preventers had grown quite large and now filled a tall skyscraper not too far from the Sank Kingdom. Rather then using a PA system or even hiring people to run up and down the stairs delivering messages the company had agreed to use an instant message server, relaying messages instantly.   
  
Duo opened the message and scanned the contents. It was sent to him but included Heero's name as well. Nodding to himself he sent a quick affirmative reply and closed the program.   
  
"Heero, we're being called up top."   
  
Heero responded by setting down his papers in the folder and tucking it away. Grabbing his uniform's jacket he pushed the chair in on his desk and followed Duo to the elevator. The two rode the elevator up the Lady Une's main office on the top floor, Heero slipping on his jacket so he looked presentable and Duo without his, he'd left it hanging on his chair.   
  
When they reached the top floor neither were surprised to see Quatre and Trowa there waiting, Wufei entered from the stairs a moment later. All walked up to Lady Une's fancy oak desk and waited silently.   
  
Lady Une sat comfortably in her padded chair, her hair hanging straight around her head. Her eyes moved over all five boys and then she leaned back in her chair, a tired look on her face.   
  
"You're all aware of the terriforming project begun on Mars after the wars, correct?"   
  
The boys nodded and Trowa frowned slightly. "Where Noin and Zechs went to help." It was a statement, not a question, but Lady Une provided an answer anyway.   
  
"Yes. We have been receiving steady reports from them on the progress but the last report was late… and there hasn't been one since." Reaching for a controller on her desk she clicked a button and the video screen across the room lit up. All five turned and watched as the gray screen fuzzed with static.   
  
"There's no image?" Quatre asked.   
  
"No, just audio." The volume control lit up at the bottom of the screen and soon Noin's voice could clearly be heard in the room over the thick static. But many words were fizzed out.   
  
"We need… immediately… hurry!! Planet is…"   
  
The message cut off abruptly, the screen going blank. Lady Une played the message one more time then shut off the screen, setting the remote back on her desk.   
  
"I want you five to head over to the terriforming project and find out what's going on. You are the best qualified for situations of this kind and most others are already on other missions. Wufei, Sally is currently away but is on her way back. If you like I can assign you a temporary partner for this mission."   
  
Wufei shook his head. "There are five of us, any more may be more hindrance then help."   
  
"Very well. Can you all leave immediately?"   
  
"No problem," Duo said with a grin. Heero nodded, a short movement. Quatre and Trowa's eyes met for a second then Trowa nodded back to Lady Une and Quatre voiced his affirmative.   
  
"Then please leave immediately."   
  
Having received their orders all turned and left the room. As they stepped into the elevator Duo leaned against the wall and jabbed the button for the bottom floor several times as if he thought it would make the doors close faster. Glancing from the button he noticed a slightly amused look on Heero's face.   
  
"What?"   
  
"You got what you wished for, something to do."   
  
Duo groaned and closed his eyes, running his fingers through his bangs. "Man I hope I don't regret saying that!" 


	3. Part 2

Part 2  
  
*Shuttle towards Mars  
  
The former gundam pilots fidgeted in their seats as Duo piloted the shuttle toward the planet. They'd taken off directly from Preventers Headquarters and were now nearly at the planet, time flying fast. Gone were the Preventers uniforms, due to the aspect of space travel and possible need for black clothing that was easier to move around in. So they'd opted for flightsuits, which highly resembled the ones they'd worn at the end of the Eve Wars. Wufei had pulled his hair back into a tighter ponytail and Duo had redone his braid just to be sure it stayed out of the way.  
  
They descended into the planet's atmosphere and headed for the base, flying at a relatively slow speed just in case. Meanwhile Heero and Trowa stood in the back inspecting the many 'toys' the Preventers had equipped them with.   
  
"Ready for landing." Duo said loudly so all could hear. He heard seatbelts buckle behind him and he began to type in the sequence.   
  
Everything moved smoothly enough, the engines switching and the shuttle slowly drifting down in a controlled fall. As they got closer to the ground Duo's eyes widened. He could see the terriforming compound before them but it looked nothing like the logs and pictures. The entire place was covered with vines and breaking apart… almost like it was the ruins of an age-old project, not something that had only started a year ago.   
  
"Guys, look at this!"  
  
Wufei unbuckled his belt and walked up to the front, standing behind Duo's seat. He frowned deeply. "What in the world…?"  
  
There was movement from behind, of the others standing up to get a better view when suddenly the shuttle jerked to the side. Quatre gave a yell of surprise while Wufei clutched tightly to the back of Duo's seat. Duo's eyes jumped to the screens.   
  
"We've been hit by something… a hull breech?!"  
  
He concentrated on landing, noticing that they were very close to the ground and if he let his concentration slip they'd end up a smoking pile of rubble on the ground. He kept his mind on the controls and the landing sequence, hoping the others would figure out what was going on.  
  
Meanwhile Trowa and Heero were out of their seats and in the back of the shuttle. They located the hull breech easily, finding it to be a small hole just behind the passenger seats. Heero frowned deeply as he knelt down to get a closer look. He discovered it wasn't just a hole, but the edges were covered with a sizzling green liquid. He stood up quickly and backed away.  
  
"Duo, land now!"  
  
As he yelled the words another hole was punctured above them, the strange green acid eating away at the metal.  
  
"Hold on!"  
  
Duo sped up the shuttle and hit the ground, not so kindly. It was either land quickly and risk damage or land safely and probably get hurt more. So he took the first door. The entire shuttle shook in protest as it connected with the ground, in a surprisingly good landing for the speed and decent. As soon as they were safe on the ground Duo locked everything down and jumped out of his seat, ready for action.  
  
Heero was immediately at the shuttle door, gun ready and crouched in battle mode. All the pilots had gone silent, their guns of choice in their hands and their eyes very serious. Even Duo didn't make a sound, this wasn't the time for jokes.  
  
Trowa opened the main door as two more holes were punched through the hull behind them. He and Heero watched the door open and eyed the area before them.  
  
The group had landed a pretty good distance from the compound, with ground to cover in-between. Open ground with no shelter. Not the best choice of landings but it would have to do. Before them they could see the compound, covered with so many vines it was hard to see the grayish color of the outer walls. Quatre blinked in confusion as he could have sworn he saw the vines moving, but no, plants don't move that fast.   
  
No one had to say anything to understand the plan. To their well-trained minds the compound was much safer then damaged shuttle sitting out in the open. Despite the fact that they had no idea what was inside at least they would have less space for things to sneak up on them. Without words, or even motions for that matter, Wufei stepped out to lead the group. Moving cautiously down onto the ground he glanced back at the rest and they moved toward the compound, leaving the shuttle far behind.  
  
All around them they heard strange sounds like hissing… burning, acid eating into the ship. None of them had any idea what the acid was or where it came from but they didn't really care, their main focus at the moment was safety and a place to regroup and resort their thoughts. They'd figure out a plan when they found a safe place to take a moment's rest.   
  
Wufei reached the door to the compound first, kicking the door open and immediately scanning the interior with his gun and narrowed eyes. After a moment he deemed it safe and moved in, followed by the others. They quickly shut the door and relaxed, lowering their guns.  
  
The hallway around them was quite empty, but at least the lights above were still working… most of them. Vines curled along the ceiling, seeming to stay close to the lights as if they were feeding off the energy. Other then those fact the place looked empty and silent, save for the crushed plastic under their feet.  
  
"What in the world happened to this place?" Duo wondered in a quiet voice.  
  
Quatre's eyes scanned the ceiling, paying close attention to the vines. "I feel like we've moved forward in time. This place looks like its been abandoned for a long time."  
  
"It smells like a jungle." Trowa added.  
  
Wufei and Heero kept their comments about the compound to themselves. Instead Heero pulled out a small handheld computer which contained a map of the entire compound. Hitting a few buttons he made it display their current location in comparison to the rest of the area.  
  
"Noin and Zechs made the call from here, we should make our way toward their comm room."  
  
Wufei nodded, peering at the map over his shoulder. "Splitting up would be a bad idea until we know what exactly we are dealing with. This appears to be the best route."  
  
The others agreed and Heero closed the computer, slipping it into a pocket on the leg of his black flightsuit. "Move out."  
  
Quatre brought up the rear of the group with Duo, his gun at ready. Reaching out quietly with his space heart he searched the immediate area for Noin or Zechs. He expected to find them or at least hear silence but instead it was almost an overload of feelings. He quickly blocked the feelings out and concentrated on their path and scanning the walls around them. But he didn't like it.   
  
In that one moment he'd reached out he'd felt so much life it was almost too much to take. It was as if the compound itself were alive, but that couldn't be right… could it?  
  
** 


	4. Part 3

Part 3  
  
*Compound*  
  
"If we can find Zechs and Noin, we may be able to find out how all of this happened." Said Quatre. The other four nodded, agreeing with the boy. They held onto their guns tightly, not knowing what to expect and moved down the halls toward where the map indicated.  
  
As they walked passed several halls Quatre suddenly stopped.  
  
"What's up Q?" Asked Duo. Quatre stood still as his eyes landed on something sitting in the middle of one of the halls. It was a black dog, but why would a dog be in the compound? The other boys turned their attention to the creature that seemed to be chewing on… something.   
  
"Come on, we don't have time for this." Heero said.  
  
"I agree. Let's go." Agreed Wufei, but Quatre shook his head and ignored both of them. Instead he moved toward the dog.  
  
"Quatre..."  
  
"Relax you guys it's just a dog. He probably ran in here to avoid what was outside just like we did." Quatre stepped closer.  
  
"Yeah, maybe 'Lassie' can tell us where Noin and Zechs are." Joked Duo, but he shrugged and became quiet after a glare from Heero.  
  
As Quatre moved closer he reached out with his space heart, trying to learn about the dog and what it was doing in the compound. But for some strange reason he felt... nothing from the animal. He could feel the plants surging with life above their heads and other life scattered around the compound but nothing from the dog. In fact it was almost as if the dog wasn't even there. Almost as if it were… dead.  
  
"Did you feel anything?" Trowa asked softly.  
  
"No… nothing." Quatre reached his hand slowly toward the dog, in a movement of friendship. "It's O.K. I'm a friend."   
  
He noticed the dog was chewing on something. But he couldn't see what it was, for the area around the dog was dark and it was blocking most of Quatre's view. He placed his hand on the top of the dog's head to pet it and gasped. Pulling his hand back quickly he found it was covered with warm blood. Quatre stumbled backward in surprise as the dog growled and turned toward him. The blonde's voice caught in his throat as the dog moved into the light.  
  
The dog's face was beaten and covered in blood, its fangs dripping and small pieces of skin hanging. The skin around the damaged areas was a sickly greenish color, rotting away with blood and some strange brown liquid leaking in to color the dog's eyes. Quatre froze in terror as he saw what the dog was chewing on… the remains of a torn human arm.  
  
"Oh Allah..." he squeaked out, unable to move. He trembled in fear as the dog dropped the partially devoured arm and set its eyes on Quatre. Fresh human meat.  
  
Breaking out of his paralysis Quatre scooted back, too terrified to even think about his gun. With a sharp bark the dog pounced at him, leaping into the air to attack with gleaming and blood covered fangs. Quatre whimpered and raised his arms in defense, closing his eyes. Above him a gunshot rang out followed by the dog yelping in pain.  
  
Quatre's eyes snapped open to see the dog whimper in pain as it was thrown back to the ground. It skidded back down the hall and into the wall. Quatre turned and saw Trowa standing with his gun in his hand. There was still smoke coming from it and the green-eyed boy had a deadly look on his face.  
  
"Trowa..."   
  
The said boy took a step past Quatre to see if the threat was gone. Finding none, he bent down and wrapped his arms tightly around the smaller blond. "You O.K.?"   
  
"Yeah I'm fine." But before the two could even stand up there was a loud growling noise heard from down the hall. Quatre looked over Trowa's shoulder and watched in shock as the dog charged at them again.  
  
"Trowa look out...behind you!" Trowa immediately released Quatre and turned to face the dog, gun ready. Another shot rang through the air and the dog fell to the ground. But it didn't die; instead with a low growl the dog struggled to its feet.  
  
"What the fuck kind of dog can get shot twice and still keep coming?" Duo demanded, watching the scene in horror. Trowa glared at the creature and pointed his gun at it again.  
  
"I don't know, but let's find out how many shots it takes for it to play dead." Trowa's voice was cold as ice, and Quatre could feel the anger his lover held. The dog was as good as dead; no one fucked with Quatre while Trowa was around. The gun shots continued until a final whimper was heard. The dog collapsed lifelessly on the ground, a stream of blood leaving its already battered body. Trowa refused to take his eyes off the dog and didn't even lower his gun until it hadn't moved for a good two minutes. Finally he relaxed and turned to check on his beloved; his eyes full of concern. Quatre had drawn his knees up to his chest, his small frame shaking after the horrible incident. Trowa dropped to the ground and wrapped his arms around his love.  
  
"It's O.K. Quatre." He said, running comforting circles on Quatre's back. This caused him to relax a little. The other three entered the hall to check on their two comrades.  
  
"I...I couldn't feel anything from it. Trowa...I think it was dead already!"  
  
"Shh." Trowa ran his fingers through the shining blond locks.  
  
"I can't even feel Zechs or Noin. I feel… something but I think it's just the plants. Trowa...what happened to that dog? What caused this?" Trowa placed a gentle kiss on the trembling lips, determined to make Quatre calm down.   
  
Meanwhile Wufei moved toward the still creature, his gun clutched at ready. Behind them all Duo and Heero kept watch down the other hallways, making sure nothing else snuck up on them while Quatre was pulling himself back together.  
  
"I don't know what happened to it, but it's dead now." Wufei murmured, kicking the corpse with his boot just to be sure. After he gained no response he quickly retreated as the smell of its rotting flesh overloaded his senses.  
  
"I say we find the comm room as quickly as possible." Heero suggested, his eyes narrowed as he continued to scan the halls.   
  
"Yes, let's hurry." Quatre said as Trowa helped him to his feet. Moving together in a group the boys continued toward the comm room, twice as aware of their surroundings as before.  
  
As they walked Quatre reached over and took Trowa's hand in his, he squeezed it lightly. The green-eyed boy glanced at him in question.  
  
"Thank you." The blond said with a grateful smile.  
  
Trowa returned his own small smile. "Anything for you, Quatre."  
  
** 


	5. Part 4

Part 4  
  
"This should be it around this corner." Heero said, putting his map back. The five peaked around the corner, guns drawn and ready for anything. Finding it safe enough, they turned the corner and headed into what appeared to be the comm room. Or perhaps a better phrase would be what was left of the comm room.  
  
The door was gone; the thick metal completely smashed in. Vines and leaves covered nearly every corner of the room, looping in and out of the smashed video screens and through the now broken keyboard. The comm machine was barley even recognizable amidst all the green. And what was worse, the vines were still moving, visibly growing and twisting at a fast pace, almost as if they were conscious of their new visitors. The only place where the vines didn't move was over the comm, which was burnt to a dark crisp, the scorched vines exhuming a putrid smell.  
  
"What could've done this?" Wufei wondered aloud. The door was metal, and whatever broke it down had done so as if it were a straw house. They all stepped in, wary of the moving plants which slithered like snakes against the walls and ceiling.   
  
Spent bullet casings crackled under their boots as they moved into the room. Trowa knelt down to inspect a few of them and was surprised at how many there were; the floor was practically covered! Whatever had broken down the door had been shot at and had still kept coming. There wasn't even any blood on the floor, so either the thing was wearing some pretty strong armor or the bullets hadn't done any damage.  
  
"This thing is shot. It looks like someone burned it." Reported Duo after inspecting the scorched unit.  
  
"No wonder we didn't get a picture back at headquarters." Quatre noted, his eyes filled with worry for his other two comrades. They were in the compound somewhere all alone with these plants, dogs and whatever else was roaming around. He hoped his space heart just wasn't sensing them, he didn't want to think of the other alternative.   
  
Zechs and Noin may have been killed. It didn't look like there was any way out of the room, and whatever broke the door down looked like it could easily break a person apart.  
  
"They have to be somewhere. They had to have escaped." Duo murmured softly as he looked around the room. He wasn't about to give up on his two friends yet. They had made it through plenty of sticky situations in the past and a couple of plants and some fucked up dogs seemed small compared to wars and gundam battles. To think that Noin and Zechs might have died from something so small, no, it just didn't make sense.  
  
"Guys, look." All turned at Trowa's words. The Latin boy was standing at the corner just beside the comm machine, an area which was quite dark. Yet it was an opening, partially covered with vines.  
  
"It must be a ventilation shaft." Wufei mused. He stepped closer to the opening and nearly tripped over something. Looking down he saw it was the metal cover for the ventilation shaft, large enough to cover a hole that they could easily have crawled through. "Someone was here alright."  
  
"They must have went through there to the other side." Said Heero, picking up the covering.  
  
"So all we have to do is go through there and move on."   
  
"Yeah, but what about the plants?" Asked Quatre, pointing at the vines which had managed to weave through the vent.  
  
Wufei merely stepped forward and pulled a couple rounds from his pocket. Loading his gun he glanced at the others, indicating for them to move back, and fired. The boys watched in surprise as flames appeared in the ventilation shaft where he fired. A single shot sent the plants slithering away quickly, while a second made sure they stayed away.  
  
"I figured we'd need this. Besides, the comm in burnt. I figured the two of them used something with fire to get the plants away."   
  
"Nice job Wu. Now, I should be able to fit through there. Heero, can you give me a boost?" Duo asked. The Japanese boy nodded, easily lifting Duo's light frame so he could climb inside.   
  
Duo found the ventilation shaft to be quite roomy, it would have been easy for Noin and Zechs to fit through, they'd crawled. Crawling on his own hands and knees he noticed a light at the other end and moved toward it.   
  
"Good, I want to get out of this place as soon as possible." As he crawled, he noticed the bottom of the shaft was covered with a strange sticky substance. Duo squinted in the dim light and discovered it was a spider's web. He gasped as he felt something bite the back of his hand. Turning his hand over he found a small black spider digging into his skin. Quickly he brushed it off. He shivered as he felt more of them crawling on the outside of his flightsuit, attempting to bite through the thick fabric.   
  
Duo crawled as fast as he could, not worrying about anything else but getting out of the shaft. He ran into more spider webs, discovering them to be stretched out across the shaft, so he used his hand to clean them away, attempting to keep the spiders from his face and hair. As he neared the other end he gave a yelp as one of the spiders managed to bite through his flightsuit and get his leg. Was it just his imagination or were they getting bigger?  
  
"Ouch!" Duo swatted away one that painfully bit into the side of his face.  
  
"Duo...you all right?" He heard a voice echo through the bug-infested tunnel.  
  
"Yeah!" He called back as he continued to crawl. Finally, after what seemed like ages, he reached the other side. Jumping out of the shaft he danced around, trying to shake off all the remaining spiders, or at least swat them away. He picked the webs from his hair and off his body and face. He shivered as he saw the little bugs crawl away.  
  
"Note to self...take a long shower when we get back." He had little bloody marks on his cheeks and on his hands from the spiders. He turned to call the other guys.  
  
"HEY!!! Do NOT come this way! There are spiders everywhere and they bite hard!" Duo yelled back through the tunnel, his voice echoing.  
  
"What? We can't get separated Duo. This place is too big and too dangerous." Quatre called back.  
  
"It's O.K. I'll be fine. I'll just check things out on this side. Besides, we have a mission to do. The sooner we find Zechs and Noin and find out what the hell happened here the sooner we can leave."  
  
"He's right. We have to finish our mission." Agreed Heero, walking out of the room.  
  
"Where are you going?" Wufei asked him.  
  
"The map can give us an idea as to where Duo is. We should get moving so we can meet him on the other side." And with that, Heero left the room.  
  
"Be careful Duo, we'll be over there soon." The other three boys left.  
  
"O.K." Duo left to explore on his own.  
  
**  
  
Heero led the group as fast as he could, eager to reach Duo in the shortest time possible. He'd be a fool to try and lie and say that he wasn't worried about the braided baka. Not to mention that this place seemed to be getting worse with every turn. First the acid burning through the ship, then the plants crawling over everything, then the dog which looked like it was rotting away. And then Duo saying something about biting spiders? He had a feeling that these creatures weren't the only things the place had to offer. He didn't like the idea of Duo being on his own. Not at all.  
  
"You better be all right when we get to you Duo," he murmured under his breath. Picking up his pace he turned a corner and came to a stop. The other three pilots paused behind him as soon as they noticed what was lying across the ground, blocking their path.   
  
A body… 


	6. Part 5

Part 5  
  
Duo inspected his body, setting his gun on the floor as he looked over himself. He'd deemed the area safe enough to inspect himself and found that he was completely covered with the annoying spider bites. None had managed to make it under his flightsuit, thanks to the tight material, yet many had managed to bite through. Small holes dotted his entire boy and when he inspected them he found that most of the bites had begun to turn red and itch. Damn, it was like he'd been attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes.   
  
Grumbling to himself he picked up his gun and started down the hallway, watching his surroundings with carefully trained eyes. The building around him was almost completely silent, giving it the eerie feel of a dead colony, no life. He noticed that there weren't even vines covering the ceiling in this part, it was just empty and dead. Reaching a corner he darted around it, gun at ready.  
  
Glaring at the hallway in front of him he waited a moment then relaxed. Grinning at himself he let out a small laugh.   
  
"You're getting almost as paranoid as Yuy." He commented to himself. Shrugging he moved forward.  
  
This hallway, he found was messier then the other. White boards covered the walls, possibly meant to display daily work schedules or something like that. He spotted one door off to the side, but the metal was dented severely in such a way that it was jammed shut. Definitely no one there.  
  
Ripped papers covered the ground while a fuse box at the other end was crushed with wires hanging out and sparking every few moments. However, the most disturbing thing about this hallway was the puddle of blood lying in the middle of the floor. Duo's eyes narrowed as he walked toward it.  
  
It was quite a large puddle but the strangest thing was that there was no body anywhere to be seen and there wasn't a trail leading off in any direction. It was just as if it had been spilled and then left there. Holding the gun tight in one hand Duo moved toward the puddle and knelt forward, touching it with his bare hand. He immediately pulled his hand back in disgust.  
  
"Its warm," he choked out. Swallowing hard he stumbled back a few steps and scanned the hallway with his eyes again, willing himself to find something to explain the puddle. But still there was nothing.  
  
PLINK  
  
A shiver moved down Duo's spine as he heard the sound. The sound of something dripping. Dripping?   
  
From the ceiling.  
  
His eyes slowly traveled up to the ceiling and his body went deadly still.  
  
Then he screamed. 


	7. Part 6

Part 6  
  
Heero approached the body cautiously, the same way he would have had it been an actual person who was still standing and breathing. However this body wasn't moving, it just lay sprawled out across the floor, its arms bent like that of a tossed rag doll and a bloody wound where the blood had begun to clot on one side of its chest. Heero paused just out of reach and knelt down to get a better look at the body.  
  
"Who is it?" Quatre whispered softly.  
  
"No one we know," Heero murmured. Frowning the former Wing pilot noticed a security tag sticking out from just under the body. He moved forward cautiously and reached for the tag, meaning to see who the unfortunate body was.   
  
He closed his fingers over the slick plastic and snapped it off the top of the pocket, bringing it forward to read. His eyes scanned the small writing below the man's picture. "A maintenance worker it seems. Leon… Renfield." Heero shrugged and dropped the tag, standing back up. But as he moved he felt something catch his wrist.  
  
His eyes widened in surprise and disbelief as he realized the corpse's hand was now latched around his wrist. His voice caught in his throat and he forcefully yanked his hand away, stumbling back toward the others.  
  
All four boys watched in amazement as the corpse shook on the ground. Was it alive? It couldn't have possibly been, not with a wound like that! But still the corpse struggled to its feet, its arms hanging limply at its sides while it limped and attempted to stand and move toward them.   
  
Even Heero found his hands trembling as he backed away. His eyes locked on the worker and he wasn't sure what to do. His mission was to find Noin and Zechs and discover what had gone wrong. That mission didn't cover people coming back from the dead and walking toward you with possibly hostile intentions. For that matter, his prior training didn't cover it either. He couldn't decide what to do… if he shot the person and he wasn't already dead he'd be killing an innocent but if he didn't…  
  
All eyes darted to the hallway in front of them as they heard strange squishing sounds, only to discover three more once-human creatures limp into sight.   
  
"What the hell are they?" Wufei choked out, pointing his gun at the first but still not able to shoot.  
  
Quatre's voice shook. "They're just like the dog… I can't feel anything from them. They have to be dead!"  
  
"Then how are they still walking?" Trowa asked.  
  
The first reached them easily and dove forward, seeking to close in the distance between predator and prey, its teeth bared and spit flying from its mouth. It was in that second that Heero made his choice and fired, causing the creature to stumble backward from the force of the bullet. He quickly fired three more shots before giving pause, only to discover that it didn't seem phased.  
  
Heero didn't hesitate. He fired again and again until the first creature dropped to the ground and twitched for a few moments, then ceased moving.  
  
"Seven shots," he murmured as a mental note. They took seven shots to kill.  
  
Almost as if on cue the other boys started shooting, firing at the three which were still approaching. Heero reloaded his gun and was about to join in when a scream echoed through the halls, sending a shiver down his spin.   
  
Duo!  
  
"Cover me!" He yelled, sprinting right for the remaining three creatures. He ignored the bullets still flying from their guns, instead he concentrated on the rotting hands reaching for him as he dropped into a roll and passed under their feet. Jumping back up he raced down the hallway, his mind only on one thing, Duo.   
  
He'd never heard Duo scream before, and he didn't like the sound of it.  
  
**  
  
The thing on the ceiling didn't give Duo any warning. Just as the scream tore through his throat it pounced, dropping from its perch on the ceiling and flying toward Duo with its claws gleaming in the bright florescent light. Duo stumbled back to the ground and landed hard, yelping in pain. He attempted to raise his gun and fire but the creature darted forward, knocking the weapon away with its sharp claw while cutting a deep slash into Duo's hand.  
  
Duo hissed in pain and tried to crawl backward, but he found he could barely move. All he could do was stare at the thing moving toward him, struggling to breathe.   
  
He'd never seen anything like it in his life. The thing looked so close to a human, and yet so far away it was terrifying and disgusting at the same time. It was as if someone had skinned another human alive and this was the result. No eyes could be seen, instead there was only a massive pulsating brain which served as most of its head as the thing clicked across the floor toward him, its claws scraping against the floor.   
  
Its head came close to Duo and he managed to unfreeze enough to kick it away, but that only made the creature hiss loudly and move quicker. Suddenly, without warning, a long razor sharp tongue shot forth from its mouth, stabbing into Duo's left shoulder. Duo cried out in pain and tried to kick the creature away, but this time it jumped forward and landed on top of him pinning him to the ground.  
  
He couldn't move. All he could do was stare at this thing which was holding him down. He could practically see his life flash before his eyes as it hissed hungrily…  
  
Then there was a loud shot and the head exploded.  
  
Duo blinked in confusion and shock as the head before him exploded and covered him, the body growing limp and dropping on top of him. He heard footsteps racing toward him and someone call out his name, then the body of the creature was pulled away to reveal Heero standing over him, panting with a worried look on his face.  
  
Duo hiccuped as his body began to shake, dropping into shock. He couldn't think. What had that thing been? What the fuck was it? What kind of fucked up person would create such a monster? He couldn't move, his arms and legs not responding at all to his mind. All he could do was shake and shiver as the horrifying scene he'd just witnessed replayed over and over in his mind.  
  
He was barely even aware of Heero dropping down next to him and pulling him into his arms, trying to comfort him. 


	8. Part 7

Part 7  
  
Heero held his comrade in his arms, not too sure on what he could do or say to make him feel better. He couldn't believe it himself. The creature was absolutely horrendous. Those… zombies, the only word he could think of for the things him and the others went against, were nothing. The place seemed to get worse with every turn.   
  
He was glad he had made it in time. That... thing looked like it was going to have Duo for dinner. He checked the other boy and noticed several injuries on his body. Not to mention the blood that was on his face and in his hair from that creature's head exploding. His eyes also noticed tiny bite marks on Duo's skin, and they looked like they were beginning to turn a darker red.   
  
So that's why Duo told them not to go in the tunnel. Heero glanced over past Duo, seeing the thing's body twitching and blood pooling under it. The damn thing better be dead; he DID shoot it in the head after all. Suddenly, he felt Duo begin to shake in his arms, and his breath quickened.  
  
"Duo?" His eyes looked wild, and Heero would be a fool to not be afraid of that look. "Duo, can you hear me?"   
  
"No... no please let me go."  
  
"Duo?"  
  
"Let GO OF ME!!!" He began to struggle in Heero's arms.  
  
"Duo stop, it's me."  
  
"Stop! Let GO!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!! Please don't hurt me...let go!"   
  
"Damn it Duo! Snap out of it. The thing is dead...it's me Heero." Heero grabbed Duo's shoulders, gently, and gave him a hard shake. He didn't want to hurt the boy anymore then he already was but he had to snap him out of this.  
  
Duo's eyes began to water and the wild look disappeared. "Heero?"  
  
"Yes, it's me."  
  
"Where's the...." Duo's voice trailed off and Heero glanced over. Duo followed Heero's gaze and choked softly as he spotted the creature sprawled out beside them. Its head was completely blown off and blood seeped from his neck, where his head would've been. Duo turned back to Heero, the Perfect Soldier eyeing him with concern. He suddenly froze when he felt something drip down his forehead and to his nose. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath, trying to keep calm.  
  
"Heero? Why...do I feel like I have something on my face?" Duo asked nervously.  
  
"Because you do. I need to bandage your wounds. Give me your jacket."   
  
Duo nodded and zipped it off, revealing a loose purple tank top underneath. Meanwhile Heero pulled out his combat knife from his boot and proceeded to cut the jacket into thick strips to use as bandages. He used a large clump of leftover scraps of fabric to clean off Duo's face.  
  
"What is this on my face Heero?" Duo murmured, almost afraid to ask.  
  
"You don't want to know."  
  
"Heero?" Duo opened his eyes but Heero shushed him and finished cleaning him off. Duo gasped when Heero showed him the blood and brain matter that was on him from the creature. He also had to pull a chunk of the thing's brain out of Duo's hair. There were several little pieces in Duo's bangs as well.  
  
"Oh my god..." Duo whispered as his wide eyes watched Heero pull piece after piece off of him. There wasn't that much blood in Duo's hair, in fact, most of it had come from that first chunk Heero had plucked out. He used another wide strip of Duo's jacket to get his hair as clean as he could. Heero then bandaged his cuts up, amazed that the thing cut through his skin so easily, despite the thickness of the flight suit.  
  
"What did it use on your shoulder, it's pretty deep."   
  
Duo shivered as he bowed his head down. "It was a tongue."   
  
Heero's face grew pale at the reply, an unwanted mental image popping into his head. He quickly pushed it away and concentrated on bandaging Duo.  
  
"It had… a long tongue Heero. And it cut through me. I didn't… even see it coming. It was on the ceiling. That thing was crawling on the FUCKING ceiling like a spider."   
  
"It's O.K. Duo."  
  
"No it's not O.K.! I keep seeing it pounce on me like that. I couldn't do a damn thing, I was helpless, Heero. I… I don't think I can do this."  
  
"Don't say that."  
  
"It's true! This place… this fucking place is too much. I mean, Oz and the damn wars were NOTHING compared to an hour in this hell. If plants don't get us then it's dogs, or spiders, or giant… things that look like their skin is on the wrong side."   
  
Heero kept quiet about the zombies, this was definitely not the time to bring them up. He hated seeing Duo so scared. He had never seen Shinigami scared, not even when he was held at gunpoint, captured or tortured, Shinigami didn't get scared. Duo didn't get scared, especially when he was faced with danger, it just didn't happen. Or it hadn't, until now.   
  
Duo wrapped his arms around himself, cradling himself like a small lost child, tears threatening at his eyes. "We're all gonna die aren't we?"  
  
Heero couldn't respond to that, he didn't want to. Here he was, the famed Perfect Soldier who never failed a mission. But missions in the past had never included things that so frighteningly resembled humans and took over seven shots to kill. He couldn't respond to Duo's question, he was too uncertain of what the outcome would be.  
  
"Duo..."  
  
"It's true isn't it? We're all as good as dead. If we don't get tongued to death by one of those things, then we'll get eaten by dogs or probably be poisoned by plants. They might as well throw in a couple of zombies to this fucked up equation. Noin and Zechs… oh god they're probably dead too. We have no ship to get off this fucking planet and even if we did we can't go back outside. We can't last in here that much longer. Heero… this is it. Mission failed, killed in action."  
  
"Duo, don't think like that…"  
  
"Why not!?! A fucking TONGUE monster just tried to kill me, along with the spiders on the side. Quatre gets attacked by a dog that thought he looked like some tasty doggie bone. There is no way we're getting out of this, no hope. There-mmmppphhhh!"   
  
Duo's rant was cut off by a fierce kiss. He froze, eyes wide in shock, as his lips were assaulted by the Perfect Soldier. He felt his body being pulled closer gently as Heero was very mindful of his injuries. Heero's hand gently caressed his cheek, the cheek that was covered in blood not too long ago. Duo felt his body relax, the panic and shock drifting away to leave him lying motionless in Heero's arms as the boy continued to kiss him.  
  
Moaning softly into the heated kiss Duo reached up and wrapped his own arms around Heero's neck. He opened his mouth to Heero's invading tongue, his body trembling once more, though not from fear. Their frightening surroundings were forgotten as their tongues moved together, battling against each other. Duo pressed his body into Heero's even more, wanting as much contact with the boy he loved as possible. He wanted to completely forget their current situation and he wanted Heero.   
  
It might just be their last day to hold one another and it saddened Duo to think that his first kiss with Heero could very well be his last. A tear left slipped down his cheek at the thought as his lips trembled. He had never been so scared in his life. But now, as he continued to kiss Heero, he felt fear deep in his heart.   
  
He didn't want to die. He didn't want Heero to die. He didn't want the others to die and he didn't want Noin and Zechs to be dead.   
  
The two slowly broke apart from the kiss, panting softly as they caught their breaths. Heero gazed into the watery violet eyes and found tears spilling down Duo's cheeks.  
  
"I'm scared Heero."   
  
Heero held him tighter, not wanting to let go. "Me too Duo."  
  
"But...you can't be scared. Perfect Soldiers don't get scared."   
  
Heero kissed a tear away that hung on Duo's nose and held the boy close.  
  
"I am scared though. I'm scared but at the same time I'm determined to make sure we get out of here alive. I will not lose you or the others. It won't happen. We are going to find Noin and Zechs, get the hell out of this place, and get back to headquarters. Safe and alive."  
  
"You promise that we'll make it out of here?"   
  
Heero kissed him one more time. "I give you my word that I will find a way to get us out here. No fucked up compound is going to stop me either. Nothing else is going to happen to you or any of us. I'm here Duo, and I always will be here."   
  
Duo let a small smile slip on his face at those words. He snuggled even closer to Heero, sighing at the feeling of Heero's warm and safe embrace.   
  
If Heero said that he would save them, then he would. Heero Yuy always kept his word.  
  
So why did part of him feel like he just told Duo a big, fat lie? 


	9. Part 8

Part 8  
  
Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei rushed down the now bloody hallway. It had taken them a while to get rid of the zombies, especially since they had all started diving forward and after Heero had raced ahead they'd had to retreat to keep from being attacked. Now however the zombies were dead and they were also aware of how much ammo it took to kill them. As they raced to meet up with Heero and Duo they took stock of their ammo, trying to figure out how many more things they could afford to run into. Turning the corner all three stopped dead in their tracks.  
  
Three pairs of eyes stared at the two figures curled close together while kissing each other, very passionately. Wufei's eyes widened while Trowa's face gained a hint of red and Quatre glanced away.  
  
All three smiled. Two wars filled with countless battles couldn't bring the two of them together, but killer creatures could. Despite the fact that it was about time they discovered their feelings now was not the time, nor was it the safest place. Quatre stepped forward to politely interrupt the boys when something squished underfoot. Quatre jumped back quickly and looked down.  
  
The floor around them was covered in blood and… small chunks of brains. Quatre swallowed hard as his eyes followed the trail to the corpse lying on the floor about a foot away from Heero.  
  
Curved legs that were bent at 90-degree angles lay sprawled out from the body, while a pile of blood grew ever thicker on the floor. Whatever the creature was it certainly wasn't human, or at least not anymore. Dark back claws took the place of fingers, lined with blood like it had slashed someone pretty badly. The body itself looked to be made completely of red muscle tissue and blue blood veins. It was also missing a head.  
  
"Oh my..." Quatre choked out.  
  
"What the hell is that?" Wufei asked, lowering his gun as his face gained a tint of green.  
  
"You mean, what the hell was that?" Trowa amended softly. No one responded.  
  
Past the creature Duo and Heero pulled away from each other and Heero helped Duo stand on his own wobbly legs.   
  
"Hey guys," Duo said in a forced cheerful voice. He kept his arm wrapped around Heero's shoulders, still not sure if he could stand on his own.  
  
"Duo! What happened?" Quatre's face grew quite worried as he noticed the amount of bandaged wounds the braided pilot now had. Duo responded with a weak smile.  
  
"That thing happened," Duo said, not even glancing over at the dead creature. "Lucky for me Heero got here before I was turned into meatloaf. I'm fine now."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah Q, I'm sure. Now let's try and find the others and get out of this place. I don't want to run into anything else anytime soon."   
  
Heero nodded his silent agreement. Wrapping one arm around Duo's waist the two tried a few test steps while the others turned to head out once again. However all stopped when they heard limping footsteps closing in.  
  
Wufei and Trowa immediately readied their guns and dart around the corner with them pointed and ready. Gunshots rang out until the hallway was silent again, finally the two boys turned back to the others and nodded.  
  
"Clear," Trowa said, reloading his gun.  
  
"What was that?" Duo asked as he and Heero moved toward them.  
  
"It sounded like those zombies." Quatre replied, taking Duo's other arm to help him move faster.  
  
"Zombies?" They moved around the corner and Duo glanced to the bodies on the floor then quickly looked away, not wanting to get any more sick then he already was.   
  
"Yeah, it appears that this place is infested with a whole lot of things, not just killer dogs and acid spitting plants."  
  
"Great, just bloody great."  
  
The five Preventers continued on for a while, moving at a very slow pace thanks to the licker, as Duo had dubbed it, clawing up his leg and his painful shoulder wound. Every corner they turned Wufei and Trowa went first, guns ready. Considering the condition of their teammate they were moving pretty fast, but not fast enough. At their current speed they weren't likely to get to Zechs and Noin before something else did, if it hadn't already. Still they moved as fast as they dared, running into more and more zombies around each corner.  
  
"They're everywhere," Wufei said, as he fired the final shot at another zombie, watching it collapse to the ground.  
  
Duo coughed loudly, leaning most of his weight on Heero's arms as his body shivered. He'd been moving slower for sometime, swearing to bead across his forehead and a slight redness moving through his face. Heero watched him with worry as he coughed again and grimaced in pain.   
  
"Duo?"   
  
The American looked up when Quatre called him, a shaky smile on his face. But that smile wasn't able to hide the hazy look in Duo's eyes, Quatre frowned.  
  
"How you feeling?"  
  
"Not too good actually." Moaning softly he pushed away from Heero's grasp and grabbed onto the wall, falling to his knees and grabbing his stomach. His face turned a shade of green and he threw up on the floor, giving it a greenish and brown color. Heero knelt down beside him and rubbed his back until Duo was finished.  
  
"Duo?" Heero didn't even try to keep his face neutral, the concern and worry was obvious as he waited for the cringing Preventer to answer.   
  
"God I feel sick," Duo murmured, trying to sit up straight. But as he did a wave of dizziness hit him and he swayed for a second. His eyes slipped shut and he slumped backward into Heero's arms, losing consciousness.  
  
Heero caught him quickly, pulling Duo toward him and shaking him lightly, trying to wake him up or at least get a reaction. The other three rushed over and Wufei placed his hand over Duo's sweat covered forehead.  
  
"He's burning up, really bad." Wufei frowned deeply. "What the hell happened to him?"  
  
In Heero's arms Duo's eyes fluttered for a second and he trembled, moaning softly before slipping back into unconsciousness. Heero shook his head, unable to answer Wufei's question.  
  
"The spiders, the licker, something in the air," Trowa frowned and shrugged. Most likely the thing that attacked him, since none of us are sick… yet."   
  
Heero frowned deeply at the beautiful face before him which was now twisted in pain. They had to do something to help him, but there weren't many options to choose from. And they couldn't keep Duo with them if he kept losing consciousness; it would slow them down too much.   
  
"We have to find a place to put him so he can rest. Then we can go out and find Noin and Zechs then come back for him." Heero said reluctantly. He didn't want to leave Duo alone, but they didn't have much of a choice. The others agreed with him.   
  
Heero handed Trowa the map of the compound and lifted Duo gently in his arms as the other boy looked for the closest room that would be relatively safe. Luckily there was a bunkroom not too far down the hall and they made it there without running into anything major. Once in the room they checked it out to make sure it was safe while Heero laid Duo down on one of the many gray colored bunks, tucking the military issue blanket tightly around him.  
  
Duo's eyes flickered over for a second and he gained a look of question. "Hee-"  
  
Heero's silenced him with a soft kiss to the lips. "Shh....just relax...."  
  
Quatre stepped up behind Heero. "Perhaps I should stay with him while you guys go and find Zechs and Noin."   
  
The Japanese pilot turned a glare on the blonde, as if scolding him for suggesting that anyone else stay with Duo.  
  
Quatre placed a comforting hand on Heero's shoulder. "I know you want to stay with him, but you are the best one to go out and find the others. I mean, you DID study the map along with Trowa, so you two know the compound better. I can watch him Heero, and if things get worse I know enough things from my sister Iria to try and help him."   
  
Heero sighed but nodded. The boy was right. "Fine. Watch him. And take this." Heero handed Quatre his gun, the same gun he used on the creature that had attacked Duo.  
  
"If one of those… things… or anything else shows up this should take care of them with a couple shots to the head."   
  
Quatre took the gun and nodded. Heero turned and gave Duo one more small kiss then took Quatre's other gun and headed toward the door. Without saying a word he stepped out of the room, Wufei following close behind.  
  
"Be careful Trowa." Quatre said in a timid voice. Trowa nodded and kissed Quatre's lips before leaving as well.   
  
Quatre watched the door close behind him, leaving him and Duo alone. 


	10. Part 9

Part 9  
  
Quatre sat in the chair, fidgeting as he watched Duo toss and turn in bed. After the guys left Duo's fever had gotten worse. Quatre had tried to reach out to him to calm him a bit, and it had worked a little, but he still felt so much pain. He'd already tucked in a second blanket around the unconscious boy and managed to wet down a ripped piece of cloth to place over his forehead thanks to a small sink in the corner. He hoped it was helping, but he really couldn't tell.  
  
"Don't worry Duo. Everything is going to be fine. We just need to find a way out of here and get off this planet." Quatre let out a sigh and ran his hand through his short hair. "If only we had a communica-!!"  
  
Quatre's face lit up as he spotted a large machine in the corner that looked to be pretty smashed, but not too bad. Jumping up from his seat he rushed over and brushed away the debree, quite thankful that the number of vines in the room was pretty minimal and they hadn't reached the machine yet.  
  
He felt so stupid as he eyed the wires and circuit boards. Pulling a pocket sized tool kit from a pocket in his flight suit, which were required to be carried at all times, he fiddled around a bit with the wires. He felt s stupid, how come he hadn't looked around the room for a comm earlier? This was the answer to his prayers and he couldn't keep in a small cry of joy as the machine jumped to life and the small video screen blinked on.   
  
**  
  
Lady Une stood up and smiled at her now empty desk. The day was over and she'd finally finished enough work to allow herself to go home and get a good night's sleep. Grabbing her jacket from the back of her chair she slipped it on and headed for the door, flicking out the lights.  
  
Closing her office door she was fishing in her pocket for her keys when she heard a trill beeping from her office vid-phone. Sighing softly she opened the door and stepped back into the room. She turned the lights back on and hit the button to answer the call.  
  
The screen flashed on and a ver fuzzy picture appeared on screen. A transmission from an older machine? Lady Une blinked in surprise as she recognized the caller, a very tired looking Arabian blond with messy hair and a flight suit which had blood splattered on its shoulder. Her coat slid out of her hand to the floor as she stared in surprise.  
  
"Quatre?"  
  
"Ms. Une. We need someone to come a get us immediately."  
  
"What's happening over there?" She asked, already rushing to her desk to use her back-up comm to make the call. This one was an older version so it took a moment to start up and she could only send text messages, which she did as Quatre explained.  
  
"Well, it seems that there is no human life in this compound but us. It may sound crazy, this is the honest truth. The entire place is filled with plants, dogs, zombies and worse! Duo is very sick, and the others went to find Noin and Zechs on their own. I don't know how much longer we can last up here."   
  
Lady Une looked spared him a look of horror as she quickly sent out the SOS. What kind of things had she unknowingly sent those boys up against? As unbelievable as it sounded, she knew that her best agents would NOT joke around about this.   
  
"Calm down Quatre. Look. Sally is in the area, so she can pick you up. Just be outside-"  
  
"That's another thing. We can't go outside. Well, not on the ground anyway."   
  
"Not… on the ground?" Lady Une blinked in confusion but quickly shook it off, realizing she didn't have time to ask for details. "Then get to a roof or an area where Sally would be able to see you. As soon as possible. Trowa should have a flare or two you can send up to signal."  
  
"Right."  
  
"I'll contact Sally then and relay the message. In the meantime… be careful, that's an order. And don't get killed."  
  
"Yes ma'am. Quatre out." The two disconnected. Lady Une immediately dropped into her seat once more and sent Sally another message further explaining the situation and where she would have to pick the boys up. After that was finished she leaned back in her chair and sighed. Silently she sent out a prayer that her team would make it out of that place alive. She had every bit of faith in them but from what little Quatre had told her it seemed there was a large chance they might not make it. Placing her face in her hands she sighed once more.  
  
"You guys are the best qualified." She said mocking her earlier words. "But I'm sure you were NOT trained to take on things like that. Please make it out safely and all in one piece."  
  
**  
  
Heero, Trowa and Wufei continued to walk down the hall. In all honesty, they had no clue as to where Noin and Zechs would be. The trail had run cold back around the airshaft so they were pretty much walking in the dark. All they could do was explore the hallways and hope they were taking the right ones. They had deduced that Noin and Zechs would have headed for the next available comm room to make their distress call again, but there were none in range. They need some kind of lead, and fast!   
  
While walking along Wufei happened to glance up, his eyes following the vines which covered the ceiling. He paused in his walk as he noticed an air vent in the ceiling which had vines curling out of it, but they weren't moving, instead they were burnt to a crisp.  
  
"Guys check this out." Wufei called. The other two looked to where the Chinese boy was starring and gasped. Their eyes followed the ceiling farther down the metal passage and discovered burn marks dotting the ceiling and eventually the walls ahead.   
  
"Just like in the comm room Zechs and Noin contacted us from." Trowa said, picking up a vine. The black plant turned into dust in his hand.   
  
"Listen." Heero said as he took a few steps ahead. He could hear dragging footsteps but there was another sound besides that…  
  
Gunshots!  
  
And the high-pitched hissing that came from a blowtorch.  
  
Without another word the three ran towards the noise, hoping against hope that it would be who they were searching for. Had fate actually decided to turn in their favor?  
  
Up ahead, surrounded by slithering plants, stood Zechs and Noin. Noin held a homemade blowtorch made from a fire extinguisher while Zechs had a smaller gun, both trying their best to keep the thick vines at bay. Wufei immediately loaded his gun with flame rounds and aimed.  
  
"Heads up!" He yelled loudly  
  
"Wufei?" Noin looked up in shock. Zechs looked up as well and got the hint. Grabbing Noin around the waist he pulled her past a group of thick vines, hissing softly as one managed to catch him around the leg. Both tumbled to the ground and while Noin used her blowtorch on the one holding Zechs Wufei fired at the source of the vines.  
  
A screech echoed through the hallway and the plant recoiled into the air vent from which it had come, disappearing out of sight. The three Preventers raced over to their comrades, Heero immediately kneeling down to inspect Zechs' leg, but luckily the plant hadn't broken the fabric.  
  
"Are we ever glad to see you," Trowa said with a light smile.  
  
"Same here, who sent you?" Asked Zechs.  
  
"Lady Une."  
  
"Just you three?" Noin asked as she helped Zechs to his feet. "What about Quatre and Duo?"  
  
Heero sighed softly. "Duo was attacked and Quatre is staying with him in one of the bunkrooms. He's not doing too hot."  
  
Noin and Zechs' faces turned very troubled. "Attacked by what?" she asked softly.  
  
"Spiders, and something that faintly resembled a skinned human."  
  
"Shit," Zechs cursed softly. "We have to get back."  
  
Noin nodded. "Yes, now, before Duo changes."  
  
Heero's eyes went wide and he froze. "Changes?" he whispered in a frightened voice.   
  
But no one answered his question; he didn't expect them too. Instead all five raced down the hallway back in the direction where they'd left Quatre and Duo. All the while Heero was cursing at himself, he knew he shouldn't have left Duo alone! 


	11. Part 10

Part 10  
  
Quatre leaned back in the chair and felt his eyes begin to drift shut with fatigue, almost immediately he sat up and shook his head, forcing away the sleep. He couldn't help it, a year after the wars and he'd gotten used to a normal sleeping pattern again. Glancing at his watch he noted that they'd been on the terriforming project for a very long time, and it didn't look like this long day as going to end any time soon. Sighing softly he stood up and stretched in an attempt to wake himself up more. Massaging his shoulders he turned to the bed where Duo lay.  
  
Surprisingly he found the violet eyes open and looking around the room. Quatre smiled softly. If Duo was awake that meant he wasn't doing as bad as they thought he was. Walking over to the bed he took the damp cloth from Duo's forehead and went to risen it in fresh water.  
  
"Where are we?" Duo moaned quietly, attempting to sit up but failing miserably.  
  
"In one of the bunk rooms. We brought you here to rest after you lost consciousness." Quatre replaced the damp cloth and Duo relaxed, taking comfort in the coolness that washed over his forehead. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Like I just played the stage to a tap-dancing gundam." Duo muttered with a forced smirk.  
  
Quatre laughed quietly. "Well, you must be getting better, I see your sense of humor is still intact."  
  
Duo nodded and closed his eyes for a moment, as if drifting off, but they opened again and he brought his hand up from under the covers to glance at the time. "Where are the others?"  
  
"Still looking for Noin and Zechs. I called headquarters and Sally should be arriving with a way for us to get back soon. We just need to wait for them to return and then we leave."  
  
"Great. The sooner the better, I can't wait to get out of this hellhole."  
  
Quatre nodded, in complete agreement with his fellow former-pilot. He sat back down in the chair and placed his hand on Duo's cheek, noticing the boy's face was still quite warm. He was still very sick, but seemed to have gotten better since he was now able to stay conscious. He was about to open his mouth and say something when they heard the sound of footsteps moving toward them from out in the hall.   
  
The sound of footsteps wouldn't have been that bad in itself, but these were not human foot steps! It sounded more like an elephant or a very heavy animal stomping down the hallway, and the fact that the sound leaked through the thick door was not a good sign. Duo's eyes widened significantly.  
  
"What is it?" He whispered quietly as he attempted to sit up, the damp cloth falling to the floor as he ignored the dizziness sweeping over him.   
  
"I don't know." Quatre whispered softly.  
  
"Quatre…"  
  
"Maybe it'll just walk by."   
  
Both boys remained completely still as the steps can closer, the entire room seeming to shake. How big was this thing?! Quatre clutched the gun Heero had given him tightly and eyed the door.  
  
"Quatre…" Duo repeated, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to sit up completely and swing his feet over the side of the bed. He felt lightheaded and his body shivered but he ignored it. He wanted to be ready to run if they needed to. But he was still painfully aware of the fact that there was only one entrance to the room, and that led to the hallway.  
  
"It'll just pass by," Quatre murmured, more of a mantra of hope then a statement. Both boys were scared out of their wits at the possible size of this thing coming toward their room.   
  
The steps stopped and both boys held their breaths, their eyes locked on the door. The steps had stopped right outside the door and neither dared move or even breathe fearing they would give away their position. But no matter how quiet they were what ever it was had already heard them. Because there was the loud sound of cracking metal as the wall caved in on itself, falling down in a rain of plaster and wires as something big broke into the room.  
  
"Holy shit!" Duo choked out as the creature stepped into the room.  
  
This thing had definitely once been human, because it still retained its human form. But it was amazingly large! The remnants of a work uniform were ripped and stretched across a spectacularly muscled body that put even the proudest of body builders to shame. Green vines seemed to encircle the things' body but they weren't vines, they were blood veins turned an ugly moss green as they pumped blood around its body, black beady eyes darting in their direction from a bald head. The entire body was devoid of all hair, as if this thing had never had any to begin with.   
  
Quatre let out a small cry as soon as he saw the creature and started firing the gun, shooting bullet after bullet into the thickly muscled chest. The body seemed to swallow the bullets, not even bleeding. He gun clicked, showing it was empty and Quatre's hands began to shake in fear.   
  
The gun fell from his hands and clattered to the floor.  
  
The creature began advancing toward Quatre, backing him up against a wall. Both boys watched in mute horror as it pulled back its fist and moved forward with amazing force. Quatre managed to drop to the ground and dive between the creature's feet as the fist slammed into the wall, raining more plaster and wires into the room.  
  
Running as fast as he could Quatre grabbed Duo's hand and the two raced from the room, not even bothering to use the door. Instead they darted out the hole the thing had made in the wall and down the hallway, panting and running as fast as they could. It wasn't even a second before they could hear the thing following them with heavy and loud footsteps.  
  
Duo coughed as Quatre pulled him on, his feet dragging more then a little bit. He tried to keep from tripping but his world spun from what ever he was sick with and he was forced to run with his eyes closed to keep from getting dizzy. Still his world seemed to swirl and more then once he grabbed hard onto Quatre's shoulders, moaning as his stomach churned painfully.  
  
The bald creature caught up with them quickly and raised its fist; once again only just barely missing them as they rolled to the ground and its fist lodged into another wall. Quatre coughed from the plaster dust and forced Duo to his feet, in an attempt to keep running, but Duo's body swayed and stumbled forward, landing on the ground with a cry.  
  
"Duo!"  
  
Duo coughed, blood hitting the floor just under him. "I can't… my leg… I can't feel my leg."  
  
Quatre's eyes widened. Duo was losing the feelings in his limbs? Not good! That meant that all this running was only making him worse. Gritting his teeth he wrapped Duo's arms around his own neck and started running again, pulling the boy behind him on his back. He knew he was moving too slow and that the bald creature was going to catch them this time for sure. He wasn't strong enough to carry Duo's body and still give the creature a good chase, but he refused to leave Duo behind!  
  
"I'm not leaving you behind, so just forget it!"  
  
With those words Quatre forced himself into a harder and faster run, sweat beading over his forehead from the energy it took. He'd risk it though.  
  
He turned the corner and wasn't even looking in front of him, all his concentration on getting himself and Duo as far from the creature as possible. Luckily though he heard the warning from ahead and obeyed without a second thought.  
  
"QUATRE! DUCK!"  
  
Quatre dropped to the ground and rolled, using his arms to shield Duo from the impact as much as possible. As the two lay huddled on the ground gunshots rang out over head. They could hear the dull thumps as the bullets hit the bald creature and without looking Quatre knew it wasn't doing much. But finally there was a loud crash behind them of a body falling to the ground and then people rushing toward them.  
  
Quatre opened his eyes and whimpered softly as he found Trowa kneeling beside him, quickly wrapping his arms around the boy. "Trowa!"  
  
"Duo?!" Heero knelt next to Duo, his face creased with worry.  
  
Violet eyes blinked open, with effort and Duo forced a small grin. "Hey Hee-chan, how are ya?"   
  
Heero wrapped his arms around the braided boy tightly and tried to help him stand, but Duo's body remained limp, leaning heavily on Heero.  
  
"What's wrong?"   
  
Quatre stood up, still holding tight onto Trowa. "He says he can't feel his legs Heero. One of us is going to have to carry him."  
  
Heero nodded without a word and scooped Duo up in his arms, holding the boy close as he drifted in and out of consciousness again.  
  
"We had better get out of here, and fast. He won't stay down for long." Noin said, her gun still trained on the huge body behind them.  
  
All the boys turned wide eyes toward the huge figure in morbid amazement, it wasn't dead?! But they didn't give it time to stand up again. Instead they moved down the hall quickly, not caring what direction they went, only caring that they got away from the creature before it was able to stand up again. 


	12. Part 11

Part 11  
  
The group continued to run forward, shooting anything that got in their way. It had become an unsettling habit to shoot anything in front of them that moved or even breathed, but at least it was keeping them from getting attacked, though they were getting close to their limit of ammo.   
  
After their run in with the big bald creature Quatre informed them about his small contact with Une and the fact that Sally would meet them on the roof. So now Trowa led the group, gun in one hand and mini compad in the other as he studied the map and led them on the fastest route. Meanwhile the others followed behind him with their guns ready while Heero carried Duo and Noin and Zechs brought up the rear.   
  
"There should be an elevator coming up." Heero said. He didn't have the map, but he still knew it by heart.  
  
"Hee-chan, maybe you should let someone else carry me." Duo said. Lately he'd noticed that Heero's breaths were coming out more ragged, not to mention that sweat was slowly beading down his forehead. It was obvious that Heero was getting tired and he was getting there fast. Was Duo too heavy for him?  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You look tired."   
  
Heero glared down at Duo, as if the thought of NOT carrying him was impossible. The others chose to stay out of the conversation and instead concentrated on the area around them. As they ran, they noticed a door ahead that had a picture of a set of stairs on it.   
  
"Maybe we should take the stairs. I mean, aren't you suppose to take the stairs in an emergency?" Quatre pointed out.  
  
"Whatever, as long as we get to the roof and off of this planet." Wufei said. The entire group seemed to be in agreement on that one so they headed for the door. Wufei took the lead and reached the door first, placing his hand on the handle and pushing it open. But then he froze.  
  
Before him two dogs perched on the lower area of the stairs, one watching the door with narrowed eyes while the other was curled up contently behind him chomping on what had obviously been a zombie before they attacked it. Both dogs looks like they'd stepped out of some old horror movie, flesh hanging from their faces in rotting clumps. The one in the front bared its bloodied teeth and began to advance toward Wufei slowly, while the other stood up, abandoning its former lunch in favor of a newer and fresher one.  
  
Wufei took a quick step back and pulled the door shut just as both dog pounced, succeeding in closing the door. A second later there was the dull thump of both bodies hitting the door hard, followed by whimpers and low growls.  
  
"The stairs are not an option," Wufei stated as a shudder ran through his body. Behind him came the sounds of claws scraping against the door along with low and angry growls.  
The creatures were actually damaging the door!  
  
"You don't think they could actually get through the door do you?" Quatre asked, sounding very unsure and afraid.  
  
"Let's not stick around to find out." Trowa said, turning away from the door as the clawing got worse.  
  
"I agree, let's find the elevator." Zechs said, his voice a little on the edgy side as well.  
  
"And fast," Noin added. The gang then took off at top speed.  
  
**  
  
After going through a few more halls and zombies, the gang came across the elevator. They rushed towards it and slammed on the up button, sending the elevator to them. Finally away from all of the chaos, they took a deep breath that they hadn't been able to release since they entered the compound.   
  
That's when they got a good look at Heero and Duo.  
  
Duo was looking worse now, his eyes hazy and puffy. His bangs were damp from   
sweat, his face looking quite flushed. But he wasn't the only one.  
  
They found that Heero was also sweating, his face a deeper shade of red then normal. He leaned against the wall, still holding Duo safely in his arms, but he was exhausted and it showed all too well. At first the boys all thought it was because Heero had been carrying Duo at top speed, but when Heero let out a few painful sounding coughs they began to get worried.  
  
"Heero, are you O.K.?" Quatre asked, feeling his forehead. It was warm, not as hot as Duo's but warmer than it should have been. Heero let out another harsh cough and cleared his throat, wincing at the pain in his throat.  
  
"Fine. Nothing is wrong." Heero said.   
  
Duo looked at his love with worry in his eyes. Could he be sick too? He hoped not but it appeared that way. What was wrong with them?   
  
Heero had to swallow the bile he felt in his throat, leaving a nasty taste in his mouth. He would never admit that he was feeling like shit, not now at least. They had more important things to worry about. Getting everyone out of this hellish compound was the first priority, he'd have time to worry about himself later on the ride back to earth aboard Sally's ship. He watched as Duo opened his mouth to protest but was saved from having to convince them of his own priorities when a low moaning filled the room around them.   
  
The group slowly turned from the elevator and noticed a set of zombies approaching them. However, these zombies were different from the earlier ones. The other had merely looked like walking corpses which had begun to rot apart. These ones, in contrast, were worse. They had no outer skin, their bodies made completely of pink and red muscle tissue that was held against their bones by thick, pulsating, blood veins. Their faces were almost non-existent with holes for noses and a wide gaping mouth with sharp teeth poking through the muscle. Only their eyes looked normal, and those eyes set of their targets with hungry glares.  
  
Trowa, Zechs and Noin immediately started shooting but the bullets didn't seem to have much of an effect. They all took steps back as they watched the new zombies swallow the bullets much the same way the big bald thing had.   
  
"They're getting closer." Noin cried, still firing.   
  
Wufei stepped up behind her and reloaded his gun, filling it with the last of his flameshots. Behind him he heard the ding from the elevator, signaling it had finally reached their floor. Without pause he fired at one of the zombies, sending its body flying backward with a shot of flames.  
  
"Back into it…NOW!" Wufei yelled. They all nodded and slowly backed toward the elevator, none willing to turn their backs on their advancing enemies. Heero reached the door first, he and Duo almost stepping into the elevator when he felt Duo's body stiffen and the boy drew in a sharp breath.  
  
"What is it?" Heero asked.  
  
"Li-listen Heero," Duo's voice shook as he whispered the words. He closed his eyes, not willing to look at what he'd heard.  
  
Heero stopped and listened, trying to pinpoint what had frightened Duo so much. But when he heard the sound he froze as well, his body shivering slightly. There was a clicking sound coming from inside the elevator behind them. It stopped for a moment and then was followed by two low hisses, one right after another.  
  
"It's those…things again." Duo began to tremble lightly in Heero's arms. Heero looked ahead and noticed that the zombies were starting to fall, but it was still too many of them. And now they couldn't go inside the elevator because of those tongue monsters. They had to take out the creatures in the elevator, and fast.   
  
"Wufei…" Wufei turned and looked at Heero.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I need you to run in the elevator and shoot up." Heero said.  
  
"But, the things out here…"  
  
"There is something worse inside the elevator. Trust me. And they need to be killed now." Heero said. Behind him the hissing grew louder and more clicks followed, the creatures were moving for the door and their newly acquired prey.   
  
Wufei heard the sounds and nodded. Holding his gun tightly and pointing it over his head he left the others to deal with the skinless zombies. Darting in the elevator he fired before he even saw what was climbing on the ceiling. He fired enough bullets to make a few good size holes in the top of the elevator and didn't stop until two misshapen bodies fell to the floor and spasmed before falling still, one body laying atop the other.  
  
"Come on let's go!"   
  
Wufei eyed the creatures nervously as the others backed into the elevator and the door closed and groaned softly.  
  
It was a long way to the roof, and they'd be riding with the misshapen dead bodies the entire time.  
  
**  
  
When the last of the group got in they quickly pushed up for the roof. The doors shut just in time before the zombies could reach them. One of them, at the last second, dived forward and clamped its hand tightly around Noin's leg, but the door had closed and chopped its hand off before it could pull her out. She quickly shook the dismembered hand off her leg with a shudder.  
  
Meanwhile Duo finally allowed himself to open his eyes and was greeted with the sight of the two bodies piled in the corner. He shut his eyes quickly and buried his face against Heero's chest, not wanted to look at them.  
  
"We're almost there." Heero said, giving him a reassuring squeeze. Duo nodded but kept his eyes shut and his head against Heero's chest. Though he frowned when he noted that Heero's heart was beating extra fast. Just how tired was Heero?  
  
The elevator continued to rise and everyone had their eyes on the door, only thinking about how close they were to the end of all of this. They were just a floor away from the top when there was a soft hissing from behind them. Everyone whirled around in time to see a long tongue dart out from one of the bodies, just narrowly missing their feet.  
  
Duo clutched Heero tighter as he heard the creature move out from under the body of its dead companion and start toward them, only to be met by a shower of bullets from Noin's gun. Greenish-red fluid splattered across the floor and the thing fell still once more.  
  
Behind her, Zechs pulled out his gun and shot a bullet straight into the other's head, adding to the mess. He didn't care though; he just wanted to make sure that both were dead.  
  
"Just in case." He murmured, wiping a chunk of the creature's head off of his face. The others agreed with this answer and rode up to the roof, happy that it would all be over soon. 


	13. Part 12

Part 12  
  
As the elevator slowed to a stop on the top floor all guns were loaded and aimed at the door, the entire group holding their breaths as the metal doors slid open. The tension built to a new high and then dropped as they were greeted with the sight of a completely empty rooftop. A couple of them blinked in belief, no way!  
  
The scene around them seemed completely out of place after the horror they'd just stepped out of. The blanket of night was beginning to fold away as the smallest hint of sunlight crossed over the horizon, far past the terriforming project. They were treated to a landscape of brightly colored plants of every shape and size. The sight was only slightly marred by the thick vines which curled out of the forest and covered the ground in a green carpet. The remnants of their crashed shuttle were no where in sight.  
  
Trowa lowered his gun and stepped completely out of the elevator, his green eyes scanning the roof closely. After a long moment he completely lowered his gun and turned to the others, shrugging. It was completely clear.  
  
The rest eased out of the elevator and relaxed immensely. Quatre watched with worried eyes as Heero staggered out of the elevator, his grip on Duo loosening just slightly.   
  
"Maybe you two should rest for a while, carrying him has got to be making you tired," the blond suggested.  
  
Heero nodded silently and knelt down, setting Duo lightly on the ground, then leaning up against the outside elevator wall with him. Heero let his eyes drift shut for a while as he assessed his condition. He was not in perfect health but he also wasn't getting any worse. Currently he was just growing weak and his throat hurt, but other then that he was fine. Opening his eyes he glanced to Duo.  
  
Duo sat next to him, his body still trembling. He wasn't getting any better. Heero noted with some alarm that Duo's skin had taken on a sickly green tint and his eyes were now a dull purple, looking very hazy and unfocused. Not good!  
  
Quatre knelt down beside both of them and felt both their foreheads. "Damn, Heero's got it too."  
  
Noin and Zechs turned to look at the two boys and Noin frowned deeply. "This isn't good. We need to get them treated right away, or they're gonna turn out like everything else in this place."  
  
Both sets of eyes widened. "Like… those things?" Duo choked out.  
  
Noin and Zechs both nodded.  
  
Duo groaned and closed his eyes, holding his stomach as he felt sick. "Promise you'll shoot me before that happens."  
  
"Baka," Heero coughed out. "You're not going to turn into one of those things."  
  
Duo frowned but didn't argue, instead he opted to let Heero believe what he wanted to. However, he had every intention of shooting himself if he got any worse, he was not going to become a fucking zombie.  
  
"Trowa?"  
  
Quatre left Noin and Zechs to look over the two and joined his love at the edge of the roof, where he was scanning the area below.  
  
"It's hard to believe there's nothing up here," Trowa murmured quietly.  
  
Wufei nodded his agreement as he scanned the lower building tops from a few feet away. "Quatre, any idea how long we have until Sally shows up?"  
  
"Nope, she didn't say."  
  
Wufei sighed and glanced back at them. "Then I guess we just sit up here and sweat from the paranoia, because I don't see anything over here."  
  
"All clear here too," Trowa agreed.  
  
Quatre joined the other two in patrolling the edge of the roof top, every once in a while his eyes flickering to the sky. Where was Sally? He knew they were safe currently but they needed to get off this planet before anything else had time to go wrong, and before Duo got any worse. He was really worried about Duo and Heero, really worried that they might not live through this mission.  
  
Behind him Heero struggled to his feet and moved to the unguarded side of the roof, his face set in a determined expression despite his obvious pain.  
  
"Heero, you should rest," Zechs suggested.  
  
"No, I need to keep moving."  
  
Zechs opened his mouth to protest again but was cut off by Heero's intense glare. The tall blond man sighed softly and nodded, returning to where Noin was trying to calm Duo.   
  
On the other side of the roof, Trowa paused and frowned, leaning farther over the edge. He could have sworn he heard something but there were still no signs below. Frowning even more he stepped back from the edge and glanced to the others, catching Heero's eye. Heero stopped patrolling his edge and started to walk over.  
  
There was little warning before they saw the large hand clamp onto the side of the building. How Trowa missing it he'd never know, but events after that were a little too fast for him to grasp.   
  
The thick muscled hand grabbed on the side of the building and pulled itself onto the roof at an amazing speed. But the next thing Trowa knew he'd been knocked to the ground from behind and he instinctivly dropped into a roll, rolling far away from the creature. He jumped to his feet, gun read, in time to see the large creature dive forward and slam Heero against the ground.  
  
Heero had knocked him out of the way!  
  
The creature pinning Heero to the ground was the one they'd spotted chasing Quatre and Duo. The big bald thing glared at all of them for a second then turned its attention to the struggling pilot it had trapped in its grip.  
  
"Heero!" Duo yelled out.  
  
All the boys turned from the noise and saw the creature, immediately opening fire on it. Luckily Heero was pinned to the ground and didn't obscure their shots. But no matter how many bullets they fired it didn't even flinch, they weren't even tickling it!  
  
Wufei crouched next to Duo, aiming his gun and firing straight between the creature's eyes, but the bullet had about as much success as the others, little to none. He growled in frustration and reloaded.  
  
Heero struggled under the monster's hold, trying to reach for his own gun, but he found it had been knocked out of his hands when he'd been attacked and was now out of reach. Even with him stretching his arm as far as he could he still fell short. He was trapped and he'd be lucky if the thing didn't rip him apart in the next few seconds.   
  
Then something dripped on his face. Heero blinked and stared up at the creature with wide eyes. It was crouched above him and the muscled face was twisted in pain, but Heero guessed it wasn't from the bullets. The entire creature's body was trembling and its veins were pulsating faster. Heero watched in a mix of amazement and horror as pieces of the outer muscle began to drop away, hitting the floor around him.  
  
His stomach tightened and he closed his eyes, not wanting to see the sight. The thing seemed to practically be melting on top of him! Even with his eyes closed he could hear the flesh dropping away and the bones shifting with in the body. What was left of the creature's work uniform ripped away and it let out a series of very low growls. Heero held his breath, it was mutating right on top of him.  
  
When he finally opened his eyes again, a second later, the creature was completely different. What muscle remained on its body was deep purple mixed with sickly greens and browns. In many places the bones showed through and saliva dripped from its mouth, hitting the floor just beside Heero's head. The creature had lost an eye, the other remaining just barely visible in a swollen socket while the muscle had pulled away from its teeth, making them see much larger.  
  
As the thing changed the others kept firing, but nothing changed. It still wasn't responding to their attacks and they didn't seem to be hurting it one bit, despite the fact that their bullets caused its rotting skin to fall away in large chunks.  
  
In the heat of all the firing Duo had grabbed the gun from Wufei, sick of the fact that he didn't have anything to fire with. He didn't care if his vision was blurry, he refused to just sit there while Heero was killed by that thing! So instead he grabbed Wufei's gun and sat there firing, each shot hitting almost perfectly but causing no effect.  
  
He growled in frustration and stopped shooting. There had to be a way to stop this thing, but bullets were doing it! Suddenly an idea popped in his head and he grinned. Holding the gun tightly he slid it across the floor with all his might, sending it scrapping right for Heero.  
  
"Heero! Catch!" He yelled.  
  
Heero snapped his head in the direction of Duo and was able to move one of his arms just enough to grasp onto the sliding gun. Unfortunately he couldn't grasp it right to fire it at point blank range, so instead he grabbed it by the barrel and swung, slamming the butt of the gun right into the creature's remaining eye.  
  
The eye exploded on impact and blood flowed from the wound as the creature staggered and his grip on Heero loosened. In those few crucial seconds Trowa moved forward, snatching up Heero by the arm and darting with both of them away from the creature. He knew he probably ripped Heero's arm out of the socket but didn't worry about it, an injured arm was worth the price of living.  
  
Bullets ran out quickly after that, attempting to hold the creature at bay far enough from all of them. It moved slower now but still followed the group around the roof. They were quickly running out of options, not to mention that three of them now had completely useless guns, Noin, Zechs and Quatre being the only ones with ammo, and that was running dangerously low.  
  
"We need help and we need it now!"   
  
Almost as if in answer a bright light shot out and slammed into the creature, sending it flying backward, almost off the roof. All heads turned to see Sally's ship descending behind them.  
  
The shuttle landed on the roof, the doors sliding open almost instantly. Trowa held Heero on his feet while Zechs grabbed Duo, all racing for the ship as fast as they could move. Behind them the creature stumbled back to its feet and started toward them.  
  
"Onna! Move!" Wufei yelled as soon as they were all inside the ship. The doors shut behind them and the ship turned, lifting away from the compound and into the sky. Below them the creature grabbed onto the landing equipment, but its body had rotted too much and it didn't have enough meat left on its bones to hold on. The arm was ripped away and the creature crumbled to the ground as the ship flew off into space.  
  
All around it vines chose that moment to break through the roof, covering the platform inside and out. But no one was there to stop them, the creature was dead and the group was finally safe.  
  
Well, most of them were. 


	14. Part 13

Part 13  
  
Sally set the ship on auto-pilot and walked to the back of the ship where her comrades were resting. Their wounds had been patched up and they were well on the way to recovery, at least Wufei, Quatre and Trowa were. But it was Heero and Duo she was worried about.  
  
Duo lay in the bed in the back of this ship, Heero sitting next to him with hazy eyes. After Duo had been talked into lying down Heero had taken the chair next to the bed, refusing to leave his side. Both were obviously sick, though Duo was doing much worse. Quatre did his best to explain what had happened to them and probably how they got infected but he was only able to explain Duo. He wasn't sure how Heero had gotten the virus and how the rest of them hadn't.   
  
Sally shook her head sadly after she examined both boys. "I honestly don't know what to do. I've never seen anything like this and I don't have the equipment on this ship to do much more then the simple stuff." She leaned back against the wall and eyed the boys standing on the other side of the room with Noin and Zechs.   
  
"From what you told me, its obvious Duo is suffering from the same thing that those creatures were suffering from. but without a definite sample I can't be a hundred percent sure it's the same thing. It could be a mutated form or something completely different. I do know, however, that Heero seemed to have the same thing. The symptoms are similar, his just aren't as strong."  
  
The others turned to Duo, watching him with worry. His eyes were shut and his face twisted in pain. He was still conscious but hadn't seemed to hear a word of what they said. Sally had given him some medicine to keep him awake, afraid of what would happen if he slipped off into unconscious again, but other then that she was at a loss. The green tint in his skin was getting worse and he was now sweating up a storm, clearly in the worse stages. He frequently rolled over in pain, clutching his stomach and coughing up blood onto the white sheets.  
  
"Is he going to change into one of those things?" Quatre whispered in fear.   
  
Noin and Zechs nodded, already knowing the answer before Sally did.   
  
Sally sighed heavily "I'm sorry, whatever this...virus is I can't figure out a cure for it." She felt so frustrated about not being able to do anything, and she hated the thought of losing one of her closest friends. Wufei stepped up beside her and wrapped his arms around her in a motion of comfort.  
  
Meanwhile Heero stood up and took his hand from Duo's. Walking to the cabinet of medical tools he pulled out a syringe and needle. Without even tying off his arm he stuck the needle through his arm and withdrew a small amount of blood.   
  
Sally's eyes widened. "Heero, what are you doing?"  
  
"Check my blood." He murmured, emptying the blood onto a dish and putting a cover over it. Walking over to the computer he slid in the sample and brought up the magnification on the screen.   
  
Sally pulled away from Wufei and walked up to the magnification. She eyed the blood and virus cells for a while then frowned. Grabbing a new needle she handed it to Heero. "Would you get a sample from Duo? We can at least compare them to learn more. You're right that we shouldn't just be standing here waiting for the next stage."  
  
The room fell silent, all eyes on Heero as he walked slowly back over to Duo and took a sample of blood from the moaning boy. Duo's eyes flickered when the needle punctured his skin but otherwise he didn't seem to notice. Heero placed the blood sample in another dish and slid it into the computer next to his own, commanding it to show both samples on screen.  
  
Sally's eyes widened as she looked at both samples. Compared to Duo's blood, Heero's was practically clean and right before their eyes they could see Heero's blood cells attacking the virus, while the virus ate away at Duo's. The doctor turned wide eyes to Heero.  
  
"Your body is fighting back against it, but his isn't, why? It's almost as if you've already been vaccinated and your body is killing off the virus as we speak."  
  
Heero nodded. "I thought about that, when I first saw that Duo had been attacked. There were only so many things that could have created monsters like that and they still resembled humans so I figured it might be a virus." He paused and glanced back at Duo, his face growing slightly red, but not from being sick. "I'll admit its part of the reason why you found us kissing."  
  
Trowa flashed a light smile. "You purposely tried to contract the virus because you knew your body might be able to fight it."  
  
Heero nodded.  
  
Wufei smirked from behind them. "So what was the other reason you kissed him?" He teased quietly. Quatre snickered but Heero responded with a glare and returned to his seat next to Duo.  
  
Because I love the baka, he admitted to himself silently.  
  
Sally was still looking at the blood cells, hitting a few commands into the computer when Duo suddenly gave a sharp cry. He twisted in the bed, rolling on to the floor and into a small ball on the floor. He clutched his head in pain and cried out, coughing blood to the floor. Heero rushed to his side in worry. His skin was growing dry, the green turning to a sickly brown. Heero quickly unwrapped one of the wounds on his arm and swallowed as he found the skin deeply infected and starting to swell. Brown and green dead flesh lined each of the wounds, pealing away rather then knitting back together.  
  
"Duo!" Quatre cried out in surprise, but no one moved toward them, too afraid of getting infected and not sure what to do.  
  
Heero approached Duo cautiously as the boy writhed on the floor. Just as he began to kneel down Duo's eyes snapped open and he looked right at Heero. His violet eyes had become a very dull shade, the pupils dilated, his expression blank. Heero froze.  
  
"Duo?" He whispered.  
  
Duo didn't answer, instead he moved far too fast for most of them to see. Without warning his arm darted forward, heading straight for Heero's neck, the fingers curled like claws. Heero gasped and caught the hand before it reached him and then quickly pinned Duo to the floor before he could attack again. Duo growled in frustration, spit flying from his mouth.  
  
"Duo, listen to me." Heero struggled to keep the boy pinned to the floor but was forced to straddle him to do so. Duo writhed in his grip, thrashing about angrily and Heero was still weak so it didn't help. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold the boy down. "Everything will be fine, just hold out a little longer."  
  
Sally rushed to their sides and immediately injected Duo with a sedative, right in the base of his neck. The reaction was almost instantaneous as Duo's jerks became less powerful and his eyes slid shut. Soon he was lying still as Heero pinned him to the floor, his breathing taking on a fairly steady rhythm. Heero slowly pulled away and dropped to the floor next to him, resting.  
  
"Help me get him back onto the bed," Sally said to the others. "Noin, Zechs, will you roll the other cot closer for Heero?"  
  
Trowa and Wufei helped lift Duo back into the bed while Noin and Zechs wheeled the other bed closer. Then the two lifted Heero up into the other bed while Quatre helped Sally with the set up for the blood transfusion. The easiest way to get Duo's body to fight the virus was to give him large amounts of Heero's blood, which they were incredibly lucky was the same type. Hooking the two up they started the process.  
  
Hours passed by in silence as the two laid there. The beds were close enough that Heero was able to reach across and hold Duo's hand as the blood was pumped between their bodies. He squeezed the unconscious boy's hand, whispering terms of endearment and encouragement to hold on as the rest stood in silence.   
  
The wait was the hardest thing. Eventually they had taken as much blood from Heero as they dared and had to stop. Heero resumed his spot in the chair next to Duo's bed and waited, squeezing the boy's head as he smoothed out his frayed braid. A damp cloth was placed over Duo's forehead and now all they could do was wait, wait to see if it worked.  
  
Forever seemed to pass with little result. The others filtered in and out of the room, increasingly uneasy and finding a need to be doing something somewhere else to take their minds away from the horrible possibilities. Eventually only Heero was left in the room. He watched quietly as Duo's skin seemed to fade back to a sickly pale white, but at least it wasn't green and brown anymore. Still, the skin changing back didn't say much. For all they knew he could still be mutating.   
  
Heero closed his eyes and laid his head down next to Duo's watching the boy's sleeping expression. He didn't want to think about Duo not getting better. He didn't want Duo to change into one of those things. He knew he wouldn't be able to deal with it if Duo did. But there was something else he wasn't sure about.  
  
He wasn't sure if he could deliver the final blow.   
  
Not to Duo.   
  
Not to the one he loved.   
  
Not to the one person who loved him back. He didn't think he could do it.   
  
But he would have to. He knew Duo wouldn't want to live like that if he changed. So the only other resort was to kill him if this blood transfusion didn't work. But the thought of killing Duo brought Heero close to tears. He knew he wouldn't be able to do it.  
  
"Come on...my little baka. You have to pull through this." Heero whispered sadly. He removed the cloth to give Duo a soft kiss. Even in this state of pain and unrestfulness, Duo still looked absolutely beautiful.  
  
"Please Duo, I… I love you too much to lose you." He held his hand in his, gently kissing the back of it and resting it on his cheek. He savored the feel of Duo's cold hand on his face as his eyes drifted shut and he fell into a light sleep.  
  
It was several hours later before Heero woke up again. He blinked his eyes open to find someone had shut off the lights in the room around them. But more importantly he noticed that his eyes weren't the only one's open. Duo's were open as well and he was glancing around the room. Heero sat up quickly and blinked away his sleepy state. He smiled, a small tear slipping down his face.  
  
"Hey, handsome," Duo rasped out with a smirk  
  
"You're ok," he whispered quietly.  
  
Duo nodded and squeezed Heero's hand in his. "Where are we?" He asked, looking around the room once more.  
  
"Sally's ship."  
  
Duo smiled and relaxed letting his eyes close for a moment; he was still very tired. A second later he spoke without opening his eyes. "You kept your promise."  
  
Heero blinked. "Nani?"  
  
Duo opened his eyes and smiled. "You said we'd make it out alive and well. You said you'd protect us...protect me. And....you did."   
  
Heero smiled happily and crawled into the bed next to Duo, wrapping his arms around the boy in a tight embrace. He had kept his promise, and both of them were going to live.  
  
**  
  
Heero helped Duo sit up in bed as the others moved into the room. All of them stood around the bed while Noin and Zechs took chairs and all prepared to listen. Meanwhile Sally brought in a mug of warm drink for Duo, who held it gratefully in his hands and slowly sipped at the drink. He and Heero were doing much better now and well along the road to recovery. It would take a few weeks, if not a month for them to recover completely, but it was now certain they would. So now all sat down to listen.  
  
Trowa was the first to speak up. "So where did the virus come from?"  
  
Noin frowned. "As far answer can figure it was a freak accident, a result of attempting to replant alien plants in a world that didn't know how to deal with them. The virus started by effecting the plants, and went on from there, so we're pretty sure that's where it originated."  
  
Zechs continued for her. "The first things we noticed were plants that moved and grew faster then others, showing signs of intelligence and intent. We brought one of the plants into the compound to be studied and that's when the technicians began to get sick. It was much like how you described Duo's condition, but in a slower form. People would become bedridden, sick to their stomachs. After a day or two they would complain about being hungry but could never keep the food down. Not too long after they attacked the people who were taking care of them. Then the virus spread from there."  
  
Quatre shuddered. "So all those things we faced, the zombies, the things with the tongues, and the bid bald thing were all human at one time?"  
  
Noin and Zechs nodded.   
  
"It would appear that the virus has an amazing rate of mutation, then. So how did you two avoid being infected?"  
  
"That part was easy," Noin said. "We weren't there for the beginning of it. Most of our jobs too place away from the compound. At the time we were out searching the surrounding areas for a place suitable for another compound and a second project. When we got back we found the place infected and practically deserted, that's when we sent the distress signal and were attacked. We were, however, able to look into the compound's logs and pinpoint where the problem started."  
  
"I have only one thing to say," Duo murmured, taking another sip of his steaming drink. "Thank the gods we are finally off that hellhole of a planet."  
  
The entire room nodded in agreement.   
  
The conversation wound down, small questions scattered on related subjects until eventually Duo and Heero were left alone to sleep and the rest of the crew went to their own bunks. Sally was the only who remained awake, leaning over the dim light of a computer screen and eight different blood samples.   
  
She'd taken samples from everyone on the ship to examine for the virus. She had to make sure it was dead before they could land on earth, she didn't want to risk leaking it onto earth's population.  
  
Wufei stepped into the small lab room behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders lightly. "You're worried?"  
  
Sally nodded, not taking her eyes from the screen. "No one else is infected, but the rate of mutation of this thing bugs me."  
  
Wufei scanned the samples on the screen. "Are Duo and Heero still contagious?"  
  
She shook her head.   
  
"Then, we are safe for now. We'll submit the report as soon as we get back and wait for permission to land. We'll probably have to spend some time in quarantine just to make sure, but beyond that there shouldn't be any worries."  
  
Sally relaxed and leaned back against him. "You're right."  
  
Wufei leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Get some sleep, you'll need it for when we land."  
  
The doctor nodded and shut off the computer, putting away the blood samples. Still, she didn't completely relax. Crawling into her cot a thought crossed her mind, one that caused her several nightmares that night.  
  
What if the virus became airborne?  
  
Owari. 


End file.
